Filing equipment



July 6, 1943 D. A. BRENNAN y 2,323,448

FILING EQUIPMENT Filed Nov. 2o, 1940 I Imfemtor Patented July 6, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FILING EQUIPMENT Application November 20, 1940, Serial No. 366,448

(Cl. 2li-d8) 2 Claims.

The invention relates to filing and display equipment and particularly to improved filing units and conveniently actuated novel fasteners to attach drawings, blue prints, maps, cloth samples and other sheet material thereto.

Large sheets, such as drawings and thelike, are not easily filed nor conveniently displayed. Vertical files or display racks equipped with ling units having removable suspension members afford the most practical and eflicient means to prevent tearing or disfiguring of the sheets, and for indexing. However, not all known devices for detachably securing sheets to the suspension members are entirelir satisfactory and considerable difculty and delay often occurs in removing or replacing such members.

It is therefore, an object of the invention to provide novelly constructed ling units embodying means to render the contents thereof more quickly and conveniently accessible.

The foregoing and such other objects of the invention as will more fully appear hereinafter as the description proceeds, will be more readily understood from a perusal of the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawing; wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a ling cabinet having one embodiment of a file unit therein.

Fig. 2 is a view, similar to Fig. 1, showing the file unit released.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Throughout the drawings, like numerals identify like parts.

The present invention preferably is used in conjunction with filing equipment of a type illustrated in United States Patent No. 1,867,158 issued July 12, 1932 to Fred J. Kline, although it is to be understood that the form of filing unit, disclosed herein, may readily be installed in other types of equipment, such as for example on display racks.

Referring particularly to the structure illustrated, a hanger arm I6 may consist of a tubular member rigidly secured at its rear end to a fixed lateral support I4 mounted adjacent the back Wall of the cabinet ll. The front end of said hanger arm is open and it is slotted longitudinally on its bottom wall as at 89 to telescopically receive the rolled upper edge 9| of a slidable sheet suspension member I8. The substantially at body portion of said member depends through slot 89 and has sheets I9 suitably attached thereto. The rolled edge 9| has a suitable aperture or recess S2 in its upper face, adjacent one end, to receive a key 93 carried on one end of a rocker arm 94. As shown, the rocker arm is pivoted at in a front support 96 and extends forwardly therethrough suiciently to allow ready access to an index plate 91 carried on its forward end.

A compression spring 98, mounted within the tubular hanger arm IS, is compressed upon insertion of the slidable suspension member I8 to normally urge said member outwardly of the open front end of the cabinet to permit its being readily grasped for removal. However, the slidable suspension member is retained within the cabinet by key 93 which normally engages in the aperture 92, due to the action of a spring 9.9 preferably mounted about pivot 95. Obviously, upon depression of index plate 91, the key is Withdrawn from aperture 92 and the slidable suspension member moves outwardly of the cabinet into a position best sho-wn in Fig. 2. This type of construction is advantageous in that any one of a plurality of slidable suspension members and their contents I9 may be readily selected by elective depression of its associated index plate B1 which preferably carries an index tab lill bearing indicia corresponding to indicia on an index tab |02 on the slidable suspension member.

It should be understood that minor changes may be made in the detail structure of the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein, since said disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ling device including front and rear supports, a tubular hanger arm, an external flange at one arm end providing a base to abut the rear support for rigidly maintaining said arm horizontally with its forward end terminating rearwardly of the front support, said arm being longitudinally slotted inwardly from its free forward end, a sheet suspension member consisting of a substantially rectangular sheet of stiff material having a bead co-extensive with one longitudinal edge, said bead being telescoped into one arm end with the remaining sheet portion.

depending through said slot, a spring in said arm arranged to urge the sheet suspension member into a position projecting forwardly of the fron-t support, and a disengageable latch mounted on the rear side of the front support normally engageable with means in said bead to retain the arm and member in a fully telescoped relation, said latch having means extending in front of said support for manual latch actuating engagement.

2. In a ling device including front and rear supports, a tubular longitudinally slotted hanger arm rigidly secured at one end to the rear support, said arm having an opening adjacent its free end, a sheet suspension member telescopically associated with said arm and having a portion depending through the slot, a spring arranged to urge said member into a position projecting beyond the free other end of said arm, and a disengageable latch 0n the front support normally engageable through said arm opening With said member to retain the arm and member in a fully telescoped relationship.

ELMER L. ZWICKEL, Eecutor of the Estate of Daniel A. Brennan,

Deceased. 

